Granny's Banana Bread

I made this banana bread the other day and realized that I really need an easier way to access the recipe for it. My freshman year of college I had my mom send me recipes. So saved, deep in the documents of my old laptop that I don't use very often I have this recipe for the best banana bread ever. (Anything my grandma makes is the best ever, and this is her recipe.)

I had the brilliant idea to make a blog post about it and then save it as a pin on Pinterest and then voila! I'll always have my banana bread recipe saved right where I can easily access it! Hooray for modern technology!

When your bananas sit in the counter for too long because you keep buying them with the intention of eating healthier and then never eat them, like I always do (... the same thing just happened with a whole entire box of spinach....sigh...) you will have bananas that are perfect for making banana bread!

Although, try to keep any babies away, because babies love mashed up bananas... and might try to help you make them... by spitting up in the general direction of your bowl.

Do you see the little puddle next to her bumbo seat? I moved the bowl just in time to avoid having sour milk included in the recipe. Phew! (I swear, she was aiming for the bowl!)

Or, by trying to put their toys in the bowl:

And yes, I do mean "toys" Rose likes playing with our snacks more than she likes playing with her baby toys.

So, anyways, here is the recipe. Everything in italics is my own rendition of the recipe. The NOT italicized parts are word for word what was sent to me.

Banana Bread:

1/2 cup cooking oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda (and if you don't say "tsp" the way the fairies in Sleeping Beauty say it, you're reading the recipe wrong.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
a couple extra large handfuls of chocolate chips or more at your discretion

Beat the oil and sugar together. Add eggs and banana pulp and beat well. (And if you don't have a beater, I've made this recipe tons of times with just a spoon and sheer arm strength without any issues.)  Add sifted dry ingredients, milk, and vanilla. Mix well. (ADD THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS, this is my own addition, but it is definitely worth it! Unless you're a weirdo that doesn't like delicious food.) Pour into greased and floured 4 1/2 x 3 x 2 inch loaf pans. (Should be enough for about 4 mini loafs.) Bake at 325* for 40-45 minutes.  (I use muffin tins and spray the insides with cooking spray and only bake for about 20 minutes. This way, the recipe makes about 18 muffins.)

There you go, the best banana bread you will ever eat! And don't be embarrassed if you eat it all in a day or two, between Ryan and I, we only made them last until the next morning. (18 muffins in 18 hours isn't so bad!)

A special thank you to my little helper who wasn't fast enough to push this glass jar of rice onto the floor when I wasn't looking. <3

One Of Those Days

I have a little bit of disappointing news to share:

I found out yesterday that I didn't get accepted into BYU's Master's Program for Marriage and Family Therapy, and I was really really hoping that I would. 

I would love nothing more than to save my dignity and not write this blog post or share this information with everyone, but I wrote so many posts about applying that I know some people would remember and wonder what happened. 

I have also mentioned before that I want this to be a realistic blog. I don't want to show off a picture perfect family, because I don't want to add to the unrealistic expectations media portrays, so that means sharing the disappointments, rejection, and failures along with the successes and happy moments. 

So, you know, I'm just a little bit bummed, and feeling a little bit sorry for myself. 

It's no fun to get so excited about something and to put so much effort into it just to find out that it isn't going to happen. 

It's also no fun to wonder what I did wrong or what I was lacking when something doesn't go right for me. 

It's no fun to realize that I have to figure out a new plan and a new way to feel like I'm moving forward in life. 

However, I haven't given up hope. :) Next time around I'll have more time to prepare and I will apply to more than just one program. I also have more time to figure out what God wants me to do with my life, or if He even wants me to go back to school. 

For now though, I have at least a year and a half before I'll be able to go to school again if that ends up being the plan then I need to figure out a way to spend my time. 

Some plus sides to not getting accepted are: no homework, no tests, I get to keep reading books for fun like I've been doing since I graduated, I can keep working at the youth residential treatment center I've been working at (which is helping us build up our savings account nicely), I won't have to worry about finding a babysitter for Rose, if we want to go on a trip, we only have to worry about Ryan's school schedule, um, I can continue to work on my photography business, and I can help support Ryan better in all that he's doing. 

So, life won't be as stressful if I'm not going to school, which will be nice. 

I'm also glad that I applied even though I didn't get accepted because I did really well on the GRE, which was kind of a confidence booster for me. I also strengthened some relationships with some of my professors, which was cool and might help me in the future. I also found a good job through the process of my application, and it allows me to use my degree a little bit. 

All in all, it's been a good experience and I'm grateful that I tried. Here's to future endeavors and to figuring out a new plan! :)

And if you want to send me flowers or chocolate to help me feel better about not being accepted to the Master's Program, I won't be upset. ;) 

For Posterity

I kind of consider this blog a place for me to journal since I've gotten so bad at writing in my journal. One day I'll print off all of my posts to put into a book for posterity or something. :) With that being said, I've had it in my head the last few days that I'd like to write a post about weird things I did or liked as a child.

I was discussing (or probably arguing) with Ryan the other day about something and he was like "you had pet water balloons as a kid!" as if that was a way to prove that I can't be right about anything because what kind of weirdo holds onto filled up water balloons as a child?! Well.... I did...

So, that got me thinking about other super weird things I did and I thought I'd share a few...for posterity, and maybe for your enjoyment also, if you like reading about this sort of thing.

• To start off, I'll go into more detail about my pet water balloons. :) My best friend, Kristen, and I were a little on the weird side... but one time we got some water balloons and made little beds for them, and little magazines, and little houses. We spent hours making teeny tiny homes and accessories for our little water balloons. Then she kept them in her closet for who knows how long, until one day, years later she was cleaning out her closet and found shriveled up balloons in boxes. 

• My favorite treat at Jeremiahs Italian Ice was a mix of cotton candy and chocolate chip. 

• I had a collection of dead animals. (Which Ryan thinks is so weird, and unfair because if he were to say something like that people would look at him funny and assume he was psychopathic (or is it sociopathic?), but when I say it, people laugh.) And like, I didn't kill animals or anything! I loved animals! I just found dead frogs or lizards or butterflies or snakes and kept them in little collections. Florida is a great place to find things like that! I found them fascinating! My mom made me leave them all behind when we moved to Texas, except for the butterflies. 

• I don't think I wore shoes for the first 12 years of my life (except when I went to school or church). I still have calluses on my feet from running around barefoot so often. The dad of one of my friends was always getting on to me about it and I would tell him that I WAS wearing shoes, he just couldn't see them. 

• My dreams in life were to own a day care (What was I thinking?!), to be a librarian, or to work in an office as a receptionist. I even had a desk set up in my room with handmade business cards and everything! Dream big kiddo!

• I was shy, but I was also convinced that if I sang loud enough from the backyard someone would recognize my talent and haul me off to Hollywood or something to become a famous singer. Thank goodness I don't have any recordings of those backyard serenades.

• I had lots of little collections. Pillows, fuzzy socks, quarters, beads, stuffed animals, magazines, paint color samples from home depot, oil lamps, etc. 

• I was the worlds pickiest eater. On my list of foods that I hated were: potatoes in any form, tomato sauce (so pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, etc.), vegetables, grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles, french toast, sandwiches, jelly. My friends parents were always trying to figure out what I DID like, so I would tell them that I liked macaroni and cheese, but it turned out that I only liked Kraft mac and cheese, so they even normally got that wrong. (Sorry to everyone who tried to feed me back then...)

• One time, in 5th grade, I brought a Ziplock bag full of flour to school because I thought it was so soft and fun to touch, but then one of the boys in the neighborhood told me it looked like cocaine and that if anyone saw it I would be arrested. So, I threw it out by the bus stop, terrified that someone would think I was doing drugs! 

• One of the best gifts I ever got was 3 pet tadpoles from my other best friend. Unfortunately they didn't have enough food to thrive and 2 out of the 3 died before my mom made me release the last one into the wild. 

• My friend Tori, the one who gave me the tadpoles, and I loved to put glue on our hands and let it dry and then peel it off. We used to always give each other Elmer's Glue for birthdays. We also would buy those movie theater boxes of Nerds and sit for hours separating them by color. 

• I learned how to tie a tie when I was 12 playing Harry Potter with my friends. We were part of Dumbledore's Army. 

• And one last one, Kristen and I used to throw parties. We'd ask her dad to take us to the dollar store and we'd buy streamers, balloons, and candy. Then we'd spend all day making invitations to run around the neighborhood to invite all the other kids we knew. Nobody ever came, so we'd sit there and eat our candy by ourselves. 

So, there you go. If you were my friend, you may never want to be again, but I wanted to write these down so I'd have them saved to laugh about with my children someday. :)

If you have any weird things you did as a child, I'd be happy to hear them! :) Please share!

This is Tori and I. We've been friends since Kindergarten, she even flew all the way to Utah to come to my wedding! <3

This is Kristen and I. I don't seem to have any pictures of us any younger, but we've been friends for about 13 or 14 years.

2018 Reflection

I did a year reflection in 2013 and 2014, and I really enjoyed them, so I've decided I'm going to do it again. (Also, side note, I don't post very consistently, but it is blowing my mind that I've had this blog for over 5 years now!) The reflection is just a series of questions that I answer, and it's always a nice way to see what you've accomplished throughout the year and to remember some fun memories.

1. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn?

This year it snowed on my birthday. D: It was actually very devastating, because if I lived in the south, I would never have to worry about that! However, Ryan put a lot of effort into making sure it was a great day for me and he succeeded, despite the snow. He started off the day by buying me those cinnamon toast Eggo waffles, which I love. Then when he left for work he filled my car up with nerd ropes because I like those, so when I went outside to confront the snow, my grumpiness was dampened with the joy of finding a car filled with nerd ropes. He came to see me at school and we had lunch together at The Creamery, and he told them it was my birthday. They don't give you anything free, but they wrote Happy Birthday on the tray, so that was nice of them. :) Ryan was going to surprise me with a trip to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, but because of the snow we waited and went later in the week. Ryan is so good at listening when I mention things that I like or don't like or that I want to do, and then making an effort to make them happen for me. My birthday this year was great because of him. Also, I turned 23.

2. What are your strongest memories from this year and why? 

I think I would have to say that my strongest memory from this year was giving birth to Rose. Giving birth has been one of my biggest fears for as long as I can remember. (Next to being kidnapped from my bed, my house burning down, or anything bad happening to any of my family members.) And little ol' me managed to make it through. It's amazing to me that I was able to conquer pregnancy and birth and now I feel like I can do anything. Also, I am SO glad to have the sweetest little baby in my life now because I did it.

3. What did you do this year that you had never done before?

See #2.

I didn't really do anything else crazy that I had never done before... I gave a baby a bath, which I'd never done before, and I received my bachelors degree... I went to Goblin Valley... oh and I used the wilderness as a bathroom for the first time.

4. What did you want and not get?

The only thing I can think of that I didn't get this year is Lightroom for my computer. But I have it on my phone and I keep choosing to use money for other things so I'm not really that upset. Other than that, I have everything I want. A good home, plenty of food, a good job, a wonderful husband, and a super cute baby girl. (If it was Ryan he'd probably say that he wanted a boy, but got a daughter instead. Don't let him fool you though, he's completely 100% smitten.)

5. What did you want and get?

A daughter. :) Also, Ryan got me lots of Nutella this year. (I have a stash of 6 large jars of it in my pantry.) Also, I really really really wanted to go to Lake Powell, and everything worked out so that we could go.

They were having a sale...

6. What would you like to have next year that you didn't have this year?

This is funny, in 2014 I wished I had been asked on more dates. For next year I'm hoping to go on more dates with Ryan. It's actually one of our goals. I'm determined to get babysitters and everything.

7. Did you keep your New Years resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I didn't do so hot on my goals for 2018. I DID graduate from BYU, but I did NOT establish an exercise routine that I would be using by the end of the year. I did NOT read the Book of Mormon EVERY day, but I DID read through it 3 times this year, and I did better at reading almost every day than I ever have before (except when I was a missionary...). I did NOT stick to my goal of only using social media once a day and not at all on Sundays... But I DID take a total of about 20 days off of social media throughout the year... so that's... something. Also, I wanted to write in my journal once a week. Since writing my goals in my journal, I have written in my journal 5 times. Oops.

I DO intend to make more Resolutions for 2019 though. And my plan this year is to put a reminder on my phone that will remind me every 2 months or so to look at my goals and see where I'm at.

8. What was your biggest achievement this year?

I've written several blog posts about this, but this year there were 3 things that I felt were really big for me, and I feel like I've achieved a lot this year because of them.

I am really proud of myself for finishing my degree in April. I had to take 20 credits while in my last trimester of pregnancy in order to do it, while also working 10 hours a week, and I'm amazed that I was able to balance all of that.

I am also really proud of myself for giving birth to a little human being. 36 hours of labor is nothing to sneeze at. (Shout out to Krista for that phrase being added to my vocabulary.)

I am also proud of myself for putting myself out there and applying to Graduate School. 5 years ago I would have just decided to stick to being a stay at home mom and never going back to school again, but I feel like I have shown myself over and over again that I can do hard things and so even if I don't get in to the program I applied for, I was able to find a job working nights for experience, and I studied a bunch and did really well on the GRE, and I think those are big achievements as well.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but it's amazing to me to see how much growth I have made since graduating high school. It's important for me to acknowledge that so that I can continue to grow and progress.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I don't like this question because there are so many things that I am not good at and so many flaws that I have, but I would only be a failure if I gave up, and that's just not what I do. I think the biggest mistake I made this year would be spending too much time on my phone and not enough time reaching outside myself to serve others.

10. What did you rely on when you were overwhelmed?

My go to stress relievers are: chocolate, reading books, Instagram, and the best relief from feeling overwhelmed is a long hug from Ryan. I also tried mindfulness a little bit here and there and I really enjoy it.

11. What are your strongest recommendations for entertainment this year?

Ryan and I watched all of Friends, Psych (again), and almost all of Monk this year. Oh and we skimmed through The Office and Seinfeld. We really enjoyed all of those.

I also really enjoyed reading The Man's Guide to Women by John Gottman and How to Not Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn (Both are SUPER good and definitely worth reading if you are married.) ((Obviously a Family Studies major right here...))

12. What song will remind you of this year? 

Anything by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. We love them. Also, I made a CD for Ryan, for Father's Day, of country songs about Dad's and their kids. (Stealing Cinderella, He's Mine, Watching You, My Little Girl, I Pray for You, etc.)

13. What was your most enjoyable purchase? 

For Father's Day I put together a "First Time Dad Starter Kit" for Ryan. I bought him a dark blue striped polo shirt, some khaki shorts (that are a little on the short side) and a fishing hat. I also made him a "Dad Jokes for Dummies" booklet. (I guess that's not a purchase) I think that was probably my favorite purchase because I was SO excited for him to open it and to laugh.

14. Did you travel? If so, where? 

We went camping at Goblin Valley in March, which was super fun, but kind of cold.

We went camping at Navajo Lake in Southern Utah, which was also really fun.

We stayed on a houseboat at Lake Powell with my Aunt and Uncle for a week.

We hiked through Mt. Timpanogos Caves.

And then other than that we visited Cedar City, Brigham City, Logan, and Heber City here in Utah.

Obviously we stuck to Utah this year, but next year we're going to spread out a little bit more.

15. This one is for anyone reading this, are there any other questions you think I should answer? Or add on to this for next year?